1. Six minutes to six, said the clock over the information booth in New York's Grand Central Station. The tall young Army officer lifted his sunburned face and narrowed his eyes to note the exact time. His heart was pounding with a beat that choked him. In six minutes he would see the woman who had filled such a special place in his life for the past 18 months, the woman he had never seen yet whose words had sustained him unfailingly.
紐約中央車站咨詢處上方的時鐘指向了5點54分。這位年輕高大的陸軍軍官抬起黝黑的面龐，瞇著眼睛注視著時鐘上的時間。他的心已跳到了嗓子眼。6分鐘后，他就要見到那位在過去的18個月里在他心中一直占據著特殊地位的女士了。雖然他們至今素未謀面，但她信中的文字卻成了他這段歲月里的精神支柱。
2. He was going to hear her voice now. Four minutes to six. A girl passed closer to him, and Lt. Blandford started. She was wearing a flower, but it was not the little red rose they had agreed upon. Besides, this girl was only about 18, and Hollis Meynell had told him she was 30. "What of it?" he had answered, "I'm 32." He was 29.
他馬上就能聽到她的聲音了。還有4分鐘就6點了。一個女孩從他身邊擦肩而過，布蘭福德中尉嚇了一跳。她身上別著一朵花，但并不是他們約定好的小紅玫瑰。而且，這女孩只有18歲左右，而霍麗絲·梅內爾告訴過他，她已30歲了?！斑@又有什么關系呢？”他曾經在信中這樣回復道，“我32歲?！彼鋵嵵挥?9歲。
3. His mind went back to that book - the book the Lord Himself must have put into his hands out of the hundreds of Army library books sent to the Florida training camp. Throughout the book were notes in a woman's writing. He had always hated that writing-in-habit, but these remarks were different. He had never believed that a woman could see into a man's heart so tenderly, so understandingly. Her name was on the bookplate: Hollis Meynell. He had got hold of a New York City telephone book and found her address. He had written, she had answered. Next day he had been shipped out, but they had gone on writing.
他又回想起了在佛羅里達訓練營時看過的那本書——那本肯定是上帝親自從軍隊圖書館成百上千本圖書中精心挑選出來并送到他手里的書。書中到處都是一個女士手寫的批注。他曾經非常討厭在書頁上寫東西的習慣，但這些批注文字卻給了他不同的感覺。在此之前，他很難相信，一個女人能如此溫和、如此透徹地讀懂男人的內心。藏書票上寫著她的名字——霍麗絲·梅內爾。于是，他找來一本紐約市電話簿，查到了她的地址。他給她寫了信，并收到了回信。第二天，他便坐船前往海外執行任務了，但他們的通信并沒有因此中斷。

4. For thirteen months she had faithfully replied. When his letters did not arrive, she wrote anyway, and now he believed he loved her, and she loved him. But she had refused all his pleas to send him her photograph. She had explained: "If your feeling for me had no reality, what I look like won't matter. Suppose I am beautiful. I'd always be haunted that you had been taking a chance on just that, and that kind of love would disgust me. Suppose that I'm plain, (and you must admit that this is more likely), then I'd always fear that you were only going on writing because you were lonely and had no one else. No, don't ask for my picture. When you come to New York, you shall see me and then you shall make your own decision."
在這13個月里，她一直誠心誠意地給他回信。即便他的信還沒到，她也會給他寫信。于是，他相信他們彼此相愛。但，每次他在信中向她要她的照片時，她都會拒絕，并解釋說:“如果你對我是真心實意，我的外貌就沒那么重要。假如我長得很漂亮，我就會始終認為，你只不過是喜歡我的外貌，這種想法會始終困擾著我，并且這樣的愛也會令我反感；假如我長相平平（你必須承認這種可能性更大)，我就會始終擔心你和我通信僅僅是因為內心孤獨，無人傾訴。所以，別向我要照片。你來紐約時就會見到我了，到時候你再做出決定。”
5. One minute to six - Lieutenant Blandford's heart leaped higher than his plane had ever done. A young woman was coming toward him. Her figure was long and slim; her blond hair lay back in curls from her delicate ears. Her eyes were blue as flowers, her lips and chin had a gentle firmness. In her pale green suit, she was like springtime come alive. He started toward her, entirely forgetting to notice that she was wearing no rose, and as he moved, a small, provocative smile curved her lips. "Going my way, soldier?" she murmured. Uncontrollably, he made one step closer to her. Then he saw Hollis Meynell.
還有1分鐘就6點了……布蘭福德中尉心跳的速度從來沒有這么快過。一位年輕女士向他走來。她身材修長，金色的卷發從她小巧玲瓏的雙耳后散落到肩背。她藍色的雙眸像花朵般美麗動人，雙唇和下巴的輪廓柔和且清晰。她身著淡綠色的外衣，像春天般生氣勃勃。他開始向她走去，完全忘記了去注意到她的外套上并沒有別著玫瑰花。他迎著她走去，她嘴角上揚，露出了帶有挑釁意味的微笑。 “跟我同路嗎，士兵？”她低聲說。他沒控制住自己，又向她的方向走了一步。然后，他看到了霍麗絲·梅內爾。
6. She was standing almost directly behind the girl, a woman well past 40, her graying hair tucked under a worn hat. She was more than plump. Her thick-ankled feet were thrust into low-heeled shoes. But she wore a red rose on her crumpled coat. The girl in the green suit was walking quickly away.
她40多歲，幾乎就站在那個女孩身后，灰白的頭發盤在破舊的帽子下面，身體非常豐滿，兩腳厚實的踝關節塞在一雙低跟鞋里。但她那皺巴巴的外衣上別著一朵紅玫瑰。與此同時，綠衣女孩匆匆離去了。
7. Blandford felt as though he were being split in two, so keen was his desire to follow the girl, yet so deep was his longing for the woman whose spirit had truly companioned and upheld his own; and there she stood. Her pale, plump face was gentle and sensible; he could see that now. Her gray eyes had a warm, kindly twinkle.
布蘭福德感到自己仿佛被分割成了兩半——他那么想跟隨那女孩，但他又深深地渴望去見這個真真切切地與他心靈相伴，并且已經成為他精神支柱的女人。而且，她就站在他面前。她蒼白、圓潤的面龐顯得溫柔且通情達理，灰色的眼睛里閃爍著溫和、親切的光芒。
8. Lieutenant Blandford did not hesitate. His fingers gripped the small worn, blue leather copy of Of Human Bondage, which was to identify him to her. This would not be love, but it would be something precious, something perhaps even rarer than love - a friendship for which he had been and must ever be grateful.
布蘭福德沒有猶豫。他緊握著那本薄薄的、破舊的藍色皮革封面的《人性的枷鎖》——這本書可以證明他的身份。盡管這不會是愛情，卻依舊會很珍貴，或許比愛情更加彌足珍惜——一段他曾經擁有，且必須永遠心存感激的友情。
9. He squared his broad shoulders, saluted and held the book out toward the woman, although even while he spoke he felt shocked by the bitterness of his disappointment. "I'm Lieutenant John Blandford, and you - you are Miss Meynell. I'm so glad you could meet me. May...may I take you to dinner?"
他挺直了寬闊的肩膀，敬了個禮，然后把那本書遞給那位女士，開口說：“我是約翰·布蘭福德中尉，您……您是梅內爾女士吧。很高興您能來見我。我可以……可以請您共進晚餐嗎？”盡管，他在說這些話時，內心因失望的痛苦而受到了很大的沖擊。
10. The woman's face broadened in a tolerant smile. "I don't know what this is all about, son," she answered. "That young lady in the green suit - the one who just went by - begged me to wear this rose on my coat. And she said that if you asked me to go out with you, I should tell you that she's waiting for you in that big restaurant across the street. She said it was some kind of a test. I've got two boys with Uncle Sam myself, so I didn't mind to oblige you."
那位女士露出了寬容的微笑?！昂⒆?，我不明白這是怎么回事，”她回應道，“是那位剛剛經過的穿綠色外衣的女孩，請求我把這朵玫瑰別在我的外套上。她還說，如果你約我出去，我就告訴你，她正在街對面的那家大餐廳等你。她說這是某種考驗。我自己已經跟“山姆大叔”有兩個男孩了，所以我不介意幫幫你?！?br />